Has anyone experimented with acetyl l-carnitine as per Charles Poliquin’s recommendations (3-7 g. in a.m.)? I have two more weeks of dieting left and I REALLY need to get off ephedra for a spell. Looking at this as an alternative, however it’s pretty pricey. The cheapest I can find Twinlab’s for is $34. Any other GOOD brands for a lesser price? And what about ashwaghanda? Poliquin is recommending that for a five-day period after coming off a strength phase to help with sleep and nervous system. Again, it seems rather cost-prohibitive at a 5,000 mg. dose. Anyone have any input?
I haven’t used acetyl-l-carnitine but I have used ashwaganda and it does work. I only used one 300 mg ashwaganda capsule at night before bed(GNC brand) and noticed a substantial difference in sleep and it did seem to increase testosterone. This dosage is quite cheap as a bottle of 90 only costs something like $13
Thanks for the input, Kelly. It’s nice to hear that you got good results with the GNC brand as I work for them and can get it at a dirt cheap discount. Do you combine it with the warm milk/honey or do you just take it straight?
Not to contradict Kelly Baggett, (who gives out
some of the best advice on this board) but it takes me AT LEAST “4 grams” of ashwaganda to get any benefit from it… sleep-wise. But, then again, I’m a
bit of an insomniac.
I take 1-2g acetyl-l-carnitine upon rising, and 2g, along with BCAA’s, B-complex and lecithin, an hour before I go riding in the hills. Works nicely. If you want a real kick, without the jitters of stimulants, you could try the smart drug Piracetam. Be sure to do a loading dose for 2 days when you commence.
No I just took it straight with my ZMA before bed. I’ve heard what poliquin has to say about it but I was using it prior to this. Eric Serrano says it also increases thyroid and I did find a slight increase in body temperature while using it. What poliquin says about it’s sleep inducing effect is true. I didnt find it put me to sleep any quicker then normal but I did achieve a much deeper sleep while using it and the first couple of nights I slept like 10 hours when i would normally only sleep 6 or 7.
As bang for the buck goes- I think you’re better to use VITEX and/ or TRIBEX over the ayurvedic Ashwaganda . . as for acetyl-l carnitine . .it wouldn’t be my top muscle protector . .I’ll bet for that price, 3 extra scoops of protein and 3 BCAA caps/ day would take you much further.
My experience anyhow
All the best
Mike D
Appreciate the input fellas…thanks! I wouldn’t use ALC for muscle protection, but for the nervous system. Otherwise I would agree w. you on the BCAA’s and whatnot. Poliquin and Serrano swear by ALC, but the dosage has to be high.
Boombam, where do you buy piracetam??? Inquiring minds NEED to know, so they can be more inquiring.
Okay - from what I gather - these two compounds are used for sleep improvement, possibly testosterone enhancement, and as an alternative to ephedrine (or have some sort of effect on the CNS???). Is that about right? Its just that I`ve never heard of them and was just curious as to what the are used for and what they do.
I was getting my Piracetam from Libertarian Solutions, but I recently visited their website and it is currently out of operation. These guys have moved several times in the past due to pressures from the FDA. I hope they are back in action soon, they have always been very reliable. I just did an MSN search for piracetam on ninemsn and there appear to be a few online sellers, but of course I can’t vouch for any of them. (by the way,one that looks like it might have some interesting smart drug info is smart-drugs.net). If you live close to Mexico you can get it at Mexican pharmacies. Sorry I can’t be of more assistance to one of my favourite Ayn Rand characters 
In the meantime I am using acetyl-l-carnitine, and I am just about to order some vinpocetine from Life Extension Foundation. Acetyl-l-carnitine does give me a boost, but it is a milder effect than the piracetam. Vinpocetine doesn’t give me a noticeable boost at all, but the research suggests it is pretty good for the grey matter. One thing I strongly recommend when using any smart drug/nutrients is taking some form of choline (to provide raw material for acetylcholine formation), I use lecithin and it really seems to increase the effect.
Never noticed a thing from Piracetam myself, even with a loading dose. Cy Willson says there’s better/newer stuff out there (forgot the name of it though), but we couldn’t find any in Mexico. I get more of a “smart drug” effect from Power Drive. I may have noticed a slight synergistic effect from stacking the two, but it was so subtle I could have been imagining it. Dosage suggestions vary wildly though, so maybe I wasn’t taking enough.
The only nootropic supplements that really have some fairly solid research behind them, and that I’d recommend would be the following:
Vinpocetine,
Everything in Powerdrive,
Bacopa Monniera,
Phosphatidylserine (Too expensive though)
Bacopa is probably the only one people aren't too familiar with but it has some very good research behind it. In normal humans, it was found to enhance all aspects of cognitive function that were measured.
Ashwaghanda works great, thats coming from an ephedra junkie. Your best bet is to look for the powder form if your concerned with cost. Try to find an herb store, you can buy it by the ounce for around $2oz, or search the web. I found 1teaspoon in 1cup hot water, should do the trick. To keep the balance of Yin & Yang add 1/4teaspoon american ginseng(powder). I kicked the ephedra habit fast with no edgy side affects like in the past after coming of a killer cutting cycle.